Roller-mill.



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No. 811,574. PATENTED FEB. 6, 1906.

L H, NIKOLAI. RGLLEE MILL.

APPLIOATIOK IILSD mums, 1905.

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ROLLER-MILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1906.

Application filed March 13, 1905. Serial No. 249,760.

To all whom if may concern:

Be it known that l, JACOB M. NrKoLAr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Madison, in the county of Lao qui Parle and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roller-Mills; and i, do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to roller-mills, and has for its obect to rovide a separating-trip for the brea "mg-r0 lers ada ted automatically to separate the rollers w on the grain feed runs out, so as to avoid wear and tear on the rollers when running idle.

To these ends my invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accomanyin drawings, wherein like notations reihr to 1'1 e parts throu hout both views.

In said drawings, *igure 1 is a view in end elevation, and Fig. 2 is a vertical central section illustrating a roller-mill equipped with my invention.

The numeral 1 represents the casing 2, the supplychute; 3, the feed-hop er; 4, the force-feed device; 5, the air 0 breakingrollers, and 6 the grain-guides for directing the sin from the force-feed device to the said making-rollers 5. Accordin to my invention one member of the pair 0 breakingrollers 5 is mounted in bearin s formed in the upper end of the levers 6, w 'ch in turn are ivotally mounted on a pair of trunnions 7, secured to the casing 1, said casing bein suitably slotted to permit a limited swing o the projecting trunnions of the rollers, as shown in Fig. 1, with the levers that carry the same. Threaded rods 8 Work loosely through the lower ends of the levers 6 and are pivotally attached to a pair of eccentrics 9, rigidly secured to the projectin ends of a rock-shaft 10, mounted 1n suitab e hearings fixed to the casing 1. Hand-wheels 11 have screwthreaded engagement with the free ends of the rods 8 and work against the lower ends of the lever 6. By adjusting the hand wheel 11 the breaking-rollers 5 may be set parallel one with the other, Springs 12, se-

' cured to and encircling the rods 8, act against the lower end of the levers 6 to hold the same in engagement with the hand -wheels 11.

The s rings 12 are of the re uisite tension to hold t e movable member 0 the pair of rollers in proper contact with the member of said two rollers,which revolve in fixed bearings. The said springs however, will yield and perrnit separation of the rollers and permit hard or foreign matter to pass between the rollers without straining or breaking the arts. Secured to the extreme outer ends 0 the rockshaft 10 is a pair of arms 13, which are connected by a pair of rod-sections 14 and 15 to fixed points of anchorage near the base of the casing 1. The rod sections 15 have their upper portions of clevis-lilie form, and the ro sections 14 work through the outer ends of the clevises and are provided with nuts 16,

between which and the ends of the clevises reacts springs 17, capable of being set under tension.

The lower end of a lever 18 is pivotally mounted in a bearin 19, secured to the casing 1. The interme iate portion of the said lever 18 is connected to an arm 20, secured to the rock-shaft 10 by means of a link 21. The upper or free end of the lever 18 is held by one of the series of teeth 22, cut in the lower arm of a bell-crank latch-lever 23. By placing the upper or free end of the lever 18 into enga ement with the different teeth 22 oi the heel -crank 23 the distance between thebreaking rollers may be increased or decreased at will. The upper or long arm of a bell-crank latch-lever 23 is subject to a crank-arm 24 on a rock-shaft 25, which has fixed thereto a controlling plate or board 26 within the feed-hopper 3 and subject to more or less of the weig t of the grain within the said feed-hopper when the mill is running under the proper su ply. The said rockshaft 25 is also provi ed with a long crankarm 27, fitted with an adjustable weight 28. With the construction and disposition of the parts the action is as follows: When the mill is started into action, the parts of the separating trip will occupy the osition shown in full ines in Fig. 1, or, ot erwise stated, the lever will have its upper end enaged by one of the series of teeth in the ower arm of the bell-crank latch-lever 22, so that the latter will hold the former in said set position against the tension of the springs 17, compressed by the separating action of the two telescoping rod-sections 14 and 15. In this set position of the trip and as long as the grain-supply holds out the controlling-plate 26 will be subject to the weight of the grain within the hopper 3 and will remain in position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2 until the weight of the grain therein ceases to overcome the counterweight 28, whereupon said weight will become operative to throw said controlling-plate upward into its dotted-line position, thereby bringing its arm 24 on the shaft 25 into action on the long arm of the latch-lever 23 and rockin the same into such position as to release its ower arm from the lever 18. As soon as the lever 18 is thus re leased by the tripping of the latch 23 the springs 17 will become instantly operative to rock the rock-shaft 10, thereby causing the eccentric mounted thereon to pull the rods 8 toward the right and carry with them the pivoted member of the breakin -rollers, thus separating the said rollers an holding the same out of contact against the tension of the spring 17 until the tripping devices are again set in their latched position to bring the rollers into proper working relation for action on the grain.

From the foregoing it will be seen that at the very instant when the rain-supply ives out the breaking-rollers wil automatical y be separated, so as to keep their opposing surfaces out of contact during the time that the mill may be running idle, and thus avoiding the destructive effect on the working surfaces of the rollers which results when the same are permitted to run in direct contact with each other.

It is of course well understood that many forms of breaking-rollers have finely spirally corrugated or roughened surfaces for the proper breaking action of the grain, and when such rollers are permitted to run in direct contact with each other these raised or roughened surfaces are uickly destroyed, re uirin the rolls to be re ressed or new rolls to e su stituted. Hence by n1y invention herein disclosed I greatly lengthen the life of the breaking-rollers, keeping them for a much longer time in the required condition for the best action on the grain.

It will be understood that the construction might be modified to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of my invention. It will also be understood while this invention was especiall desi ned to meet the conditions presented in rol er-mills acting on grain that the same is capable of application wherever the coresponding functions may be desired.

From an inspection of the drawin s and the construction of the parts descri ed it must be obvious that the automatic tripping devices can be latched or locked up in their set positions, as shown in full lines in Figs. 1

and 2, before the mill is started up, and hence the controlling-plate 26 will normall be set in position to receive the weight of t e grain supplied to the feed-hopper 3 when the mill is started into action.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. In a roller-mill, the combination with a pair of opposing rollers, of means subject to the pressure of the grain on its way to said rollers, operating automatically to separate said rollers, when the pressure of the rain becomes abnormally light, substantial y as described.

2. In a rollermill, the combination with a pair of opposing rollers, of a separating-trip operative to separate said rollers when released, of a latch normally holdingsaid trip against movement, and a controller for said latch normally holding the same operative and arranged to cause said latch to release said trip and cause the separation of the rollers, when the grain-pressure on said controller becomes abnormally light, substantially as described.

3. In a roller-mill, the combination with a pair of opposing rollers, of a spring-pressed trip under strain to separate said rollers, a latch normally holding said trip against movement, a pivoted weighted controllerplate having an arm for action on said latch, to cause the same to release said trip, which controller-plate is interposed in a path of movement of the grain on its way to said rollers and is normally held out of action by pressure of the said grain, substantially as described.

4. In a roller-mill, the combination with a pair of opposing rollers and a hopper located above the same, of a movable support for one of said rollers, a spring-pressed crank-acting trip connected to said roller-support and operative, when released, to separate said rollers, a pivoted latch normally holding said trip against movement, and a weighted pivoted controller-plate within said hopper, normally held inoperative by the pressure of grain in said be per, and which controller-plate is provided with an arm arranged to act on said latch and cause the latter to release said trip, and said trip to separate the rollers, when the grain-pressure on said plate is abnormally ight, substantiall as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

OBERT R. NELsoN, WALTER R. HURD.

IIC 

